Elevator Mishaps
by Pink Rose Petals
Summary: All is not well for Yzak Jule and Athrun Zala when they find themselves stuck in an elevator with none other than each other. [OneShot][Post GSD]


When Athrun heard the small '_ping_' that signaled that the elevator had arrived, he picked up his briefcase and walked in.

"Athrun," said Yzak, giving a nod towards Athrun.

Athrun gave a polite smile in return, "Yzak."

Both of them noticed that they were both standing on the opposite ends of the elevator. But, since the other wasn't doing anything that suggested they were offended or what not, they didn't say anything.

The elevator door closed.

Trying to fill up the silence, Athrun started humming a tune under his breath.

Yzak's fingers gave a little twitch at his side.

Athrun pretended not to see, as he leaned back a little against the mirror covered back wall.

That's when the lights started to flicker.

Athrun looked up to the ceiling, "Huh. Will you look at that."

Yzak nodded absently. "The lights are flickering."

"Someone really should file a complaint."

"It _has_ been happening far too much lately."

And then the elevator screeched to a halt.

Athrun and Yzak blinked.

"We are currently experiencing some technical difficulties with this elevator at this point in time," said a cool, automated female voice. "Please contact the proper authorities for help. I repeat–"

Of course, neither Athrun nor Yzak heard anything past _technical difficulties_. At that moment, both of them had a moment of clarity that they never shared before.

Giving a glance at the other before their expressions turned into one of horror, both Yzak and Athrun simultaneously – or as close to that as it's physically possible to – leapt towards the sealed doors and started banging it with all their might.

"_HELP!_"

--

**Elevator Mishaps  
A Series of Anecdotes Starring Athrun Zala and Yzak Jule**

--

"In retrospect," said Yzak, loosening his tie a little bit embarrassedly. He appeared to be rather calm about the situation now. "I think we should've hit the emergency button before we, you know, did the whole banging on the door thing."

"You'd think that," agreed Athrun. "But we didn't."

"No we didn't."

"I wonder what clouded our judgment during that brief period of time."

Yzak opened his mouth to say something.

Athrun quickly held up his hand to stop him.

"Don't say it, Yzak. Just don't."

--

"I can't believe that in this day and age we have elevator problems," ranted Yzak, pacing the floor with his hand clasped behind his back. "I mean, we have advanced so much from the mundane technology that used to grace Earth. This is just insulting."

As he leaned back against the back wall, Athrun rubbed his temples wearily from his place on the floor. This was the third time Yzak was absorbed in a monologue.

"And the emergency team!" he spat out, a sneer forming on his face. "How _incompetent_ can they get? We have been waiting here for over an hour and those insufferable morons can't even send us a message or whatever telling us they're on their way?"

"Maybe," suggested Athrun. "_Because_ our technology has advanced so far no one would've guessed something like this would happen, which is why the emergency team is so... inefficient?"

Yzak glared.

"You need to brush up on your people skills, Zala. You might say the _wrong thing_ in the _wrong tone_ and give people the _wrong impression_."

Athrun smiled a little.

"You shouldn't be talking."

Blue eyes narrowed. "I dare you to repeat that."

Athrun's grin widened.

"Grad night. Military School. You and... What _was_ her – I mean, _his_ name?" Athrun tapped his chin in thought.

Yzak flushed.

"Shut up."

--

"Hair," said Yzak, who had now joined Athrun on the floor.

They were still on opposite corners though.

"Blue."

"Sky."

"Clouds."

"Birds."

"Fly."

"Angel."

"Wings."

"Chicken."

"Potato."

"Yellow."

"Sun."

"Moon."

"Sky – dammit."

"Ha!" said Yzak, leaping up and pointing at Athrun triumphantly. "Sky was already said! I win!"

Athrun pretended he didn't really care that Yzak beat him.

--

"So," said Athrun, who was getting a bit bored with twiddling his thumbs. He had already finished doing the crossword and Sudoku puzzle that was in his newspaper. "How're things between you and Hahne–"

"Don't even go there, Zala."

Glare.

"Just trying to start a conversation."

"Try harder."

Athrun, even with his limitless patience – the man put up with Shinn Asuka for goodness knows how long, after all – was starting to get a little irritated.

"You know what, I don't want to anymore."

Yzak looked confused. "You don't want to what?"

Athrun's eyebrow twitched a little. "Start a conversation with you."

Yzak looked slightly offended. "Fine. It's not like I wanted to talk to you, anyway."

"Fine."

"Fine."

And as they both realized it would be extremely foolish to continue this conversation – that they didn't want to have anyway – they just huffed and looked the other way.

--

"No way." Yzak's eyes were wide as he looked at Athrun with a mix of shock, disbelief, and even a bit of suspicion.

"That was _you_?"

Athrun flushed. "Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"No..."

"Yes!"

"_Naw_."

"Yes! It was a dare."

"Zala, only Dearka would have a mind twisted enough to give you that kind of dare. And he'd tell me."

"It was Rusty."

"...I take back my previous statement."

Athrun would've liked to have said something to that, but he really couldn't, so he stayed silent.

"So how'd you do it?"

Athrun's flush deepened as he sank down deeper.

He didn't know why he was telling Yzak this.

_Kira_ didn't know this.

"I... talked up, as in to say, I... well, this is rather difficult..."

"Just say _it_."

"I kind of... _seduced_ the... _person_ who was supposed to be developing those... _items_..."

Yzak's mouth dropped.

"I..." He was at a loss for words. "...You..."

Athrun flinched a little bit. "It's a painful memory."

Yzak never respected anyone this much in his life.

Except his mother.

But she was in a category all of her own.

"You... are a hero amongst those who were on that ship." Yzak was at that moment in such awe of Athrun, that he didn't really care that the words he was saying now would be regretted later on. "Even if they didn't know it was you. They pray to a higher power so that good befalls you."

"That should make me feel better. But it's not."

"Well, you're an inspiration for all future soldiers of ZAFT. They _idolize_ you. _Worship_ you."

Yzak paused.

"Does that help?"

"Not really, no."

"Damn."

--

"_Hello? Can you hear me?_"

Yzak leapt to his feet.

"Finally!" he said, sounding rather grateful.

Then his tone completely changed, and went back to how Yzak really sounded like. "You pathetic _fools!_ The moment I get out of here, you can bet that I'll kick your sorry asses all the way from here to Earth before firing you _so _bad that even your mo–"

Athrun finally realizing that Yzak was prolonging their stay in the elevator clamped a hand over his mouth.

"Oomph!"

Athrun ignored him and put his mouth closer to the speakers.

"Sorry about that. Can you please continue?"

There were several moments of silence.

"_Um, an emergency situation just came up. We'll get back to you as soon as we ca–_"

Yzak finally wrenched Athrun's hand off of his mouth. "Bastards! _This_ is an emergency! Do you know who I am? I'm Yzak Ju–"

But the line was cut off.

"Well, that was just rude," said Yzak, turning around to face Athrun.

Athrun just stared.

Yzak looked slightly defensive. "_What?_"

--

"I'm hungry," said Yzak, digging into his pockets in hope for a piece of gum or something.

"Here," said Athrun, reaching into his briefcase and handing Yzak a cookie.

Athrun blinked as it disappeared from in between his fingers.

"Um, okay."

"Got anymore?"

"Yeah. But I think we should save it. Who knows how long we'll be in here?"

"What else do you have in there?"

"Oh, you know, papers, pens, a first aid kit, a gun, my tool box, a spare set of clothes, aspirin, emergency food supplies, a couple of knives, incase something happens to the one in my pocket..."

As Athrun continued to list mundane things that he kept, Yzak gave a suspicious look at the small, flat case, and edged away from Athrun.

--

Athrun stared at his cell phone in shock.

"Let me guess," said Yzak. "Athha didn't believe you."

"She... she didn't believe me," said Athrun, stupefied. "Cagalli didn't believe me..."

"Shiho didn't believe me either," shrugged Yzak, unnaturally calm about the situation.

"But... _why?_"

Athrun looked so lost at that moment that Yzak had to take some time to have a good, mental snicker.

Hey, only _so_ much bonding can happen in a few hours.

"Zala, would you believe her if she told you that she was stuck in an elevator in the biggest and most high-tech parliament building in PLANTs on the day of your birthday?"

Athrun gave him an odd look. "Of course."

Yzak shook his head in disbelief. "Never mind."

--

"Um, Athrun."

"Yes, Yzak?"

"There's something you need to know."

Pause.

"Do I _need_ to know this?"

"...Yes."

Fidget.

"Back during the first Bloody Valentine war..."

"...Yes..."

"You..."

Choke.

"Yzak?"

Worried glance.

"You don't have to continue if you don't want to."

Deep breath.

"No, you need to know this."

"Okay..."

"During the war... you... you..."

"Yzak?"

"Yoadowfalubonthip"

"...What?"

"You... you had a fan club. On the ship."

"I see..."

Pause.

"Yzak. Our squad was all men."

Pitying glance.

"Exactly."

"So... all of those times when I was in the shower... Those _flashes_..."

"Yes."

"And when I was changing in the..."

"Apparently."

"When I thought I was going crazy and paranoid..."

"Right."

Silence.

_Thump_.

"Um. Zala? Oi. Zala..."

--

"So you've finally come around."

Athrun shook his head a little bit, trying to clear his thoughts. "What happened?"

Yzak snorted. "You passed out, you sissy."

Athrun blinked. "Why?"

Yzak's paused mid-chuckle as he stared at Athrun curiously. "You don't remember?"

Frowning, Athrun said, "No... wait a minute. Yes."

And then, without warning, Athrun's fist came in contact with Yzak's face.

"OW!" Yzak swore, clutching his cheek before he too hit Athrun. "You crazy bastard! What was that for?"

Athrun didn't seem to care that he also sported a bruise. He just looked satisfied that he hit Yzak first.

"Yzak, have you ever heard the phrase, _ignorance is bliss_?"

Confused on how that had anything to do with anything, Yzak replied. "...Yes."

Athrun glared. "Some things are best left not known."

--

"Yzak, why are you looking around so nervously?"

"I'm claustrophobic, you fool."

Sigh.

"No you're not."

Glare.

"How would _you_ know?"

"You pilot a Mobile Suit."

"...So?"

Heavier sigh.

"Never mind."

--

"So I say we take shifts sleeping," said Yzak, stretching a bit and lying down on the plush carpeted floor. "I'll take the first shift."

Athrun frowned. "Why can't we both sleep?"

"Because, Zala, if by some chance there is a misalignment of the planets and those moronic imbeciles manage to get this rusted piece of machinery to work and open the door, they'll get the wrong idea. And we're both very important figure heads."

Athrun blinked.

"I see."

"And really, this elevator is only big enough to fit one of us comfortably. And I don't know about you..."

"...You know, the first reason was enough. You don't need to explain further."

Yzak's eyebrows furrowed a bit. "Normally, I would be insulted. But for some reason I'm not."

--

"Why aren't you sleeping?"

"Because you keep talking to me."

Athrun rolled his eyes a little bit.

"I'd stop but I think I'll go crazy sitting here by myself doing nothing."

Yzak groaned. "Don't you have some sort of... _activity_... in that bizarre briefcase of yours?"

"Now that you mention it..." Athrun started digging around his case and after while pulled out a small, hand-held gaming console.

Yzak raised his eyebrows. "Is that what I think it is?"

Athrun smiled a little. "That depends on what you think it is."

Yzak glared. "Don't mess with me, Zala. Is that _Rain of Blood _– the terrifying sequel to the _Blood of the Undead_, with three times as much the gore, three times the blood, and three times the suspense?"

Athrun gaped. "I thought I was the only one who memorized that."

"Psh. Don't flatter yourself." Then, Yzak reached forward and plucked the console out of Athrun's hand. "Gimme that."

"Um, _no_." Snatching it back protectively, Athrun pointed at a corner. "Weren't you going to sleep or something? Shoo."

He even made the shooing motion with his hand.

Yzak's eyes narrowed. "Asshole."

--

"See, things like this would _never_ happen in real life," Yzak said, folding his arms across his chest in disdain.

"I know," said Athrun, glaring at the little, end of game movie that was playing in his console. "Life just isn't that fair."

"Like a bombshell like Kasumi–"

"–With her sweet and angelic personality–"

"Would ever fall for such a..." Yzak was having difficulty finding the right word to describe the atrocity of the man that Kasumi dared to fall in love with.

"Cold-hearted, pale skinned, half-vampire son of a–" Athrun started to say, but didn't finish, since Yzak seemed to have gotten the gist of it.

Then they both looked at each other and sighed depressingly.

"That Tatsuya is a lucky bastard," said Yzak with a sigh.

"I know," said Athrun. "Did you see how Kasumi acted when that Tatsuya gave her _one_ rose?" Athrun looked immensely ticked. "And do you know how Cagalli acted when I gave her a _two dozen_ bouquet?

"I'm guessing the reaction wasn't as... satisfying as Kasumi's?"

"She said I wasn't _romantic._ I wasn't _imaginative_. She wanted our relationship to be more than a _cliché._ Of course, she didn't wait to hear out that I named a bloody new breed of flowers after her – which, had it not been for several unnamed connections would've cost me half my fortune – and that I reserved a _whole entire_ beach–"

Athrun glared at Tatsuya's face on his console. "And this cheap loser gives _one_ rose and–"

Yzak, who had never seen Athrun in such a mood, found that he liked the _other_ Athrun more. He patted Athrun's shoulder awkwardly.

"That's not as bad as Shiho can be on her off days," Yzak said helpfully.

Athrun glared. "Excuse me if I don't want to hear about your love life right now."

Yzak's temper flared.

"Stop being such an angsty bi– Zala," Yzak paused, looking at Athrun with wide eyes. "Did you just say that you named a flower after her?"

"_Yes_."

"That new breed? The one that _Shiho_, of all people, _squealed_ at when I gave it to her?"

"Assuming you're talking about the one that was bred last August–"

"Of course I'm talking about that you moron."

"Then, yes."

Realization dawned upon Yzak.

"Women," he finally said, shaking his head.

Athrun scowled. "I couldn't agree more."

--

"Farm."

"Cow."

"Milk."

"Chocolate."

"Sugar."

"Spice."

"Pepper."

"Black."

"Coal."

"Diamond."

"Money."

"Sweet."

"Sugar – oh, shit."

Yzak doubled over in laughter.

Athrun learned he really hated this game.

--

"I ate half a kilo of jalapeño peppers," said Yzak proudly.

"I ate _one_ kilo of sugar," countered Athrun, looking smug.

Yzak glared.

"I watched an X-rated film when I was thirteen. And I _didn't_ pass out."

Athrun gaped.

"Well... I watched the entire series of At the River's Edge in one setting."

"That is the _biggest_ lie anybody can say."

"I only speak the truth. Besides, Kira watched it with me. But he fell asleep after the first two hours."

"Hmm... that's a hard one to beat," said Yzak, stroking his chin thoughtfully.

Then he suddenly snapped his fingers in inspiration. "It was me that broke the vase at your seventh birthday party."

There was a moment of silence.

Athrun was too shocked to speak.

He suddenly lunged forward in an attempt to strangle Yzak.

"You bastard! I was denied dessert for a whole month! I was only _seven_!"

Yzak got out of Athrun's chokehold. "Hey, this was the point of this game, remember?"

Athrun took a deep calming breath. "I suppose... what's done is done."

"Exactly."

Athrun sighed a little bit. He hated being a nice person sometimes. "Fine, my turn. I stole my father's car for a drive when I was thirteen."

"That's nothing. I hitchhiked on some guy's private jet to Aprilius One when I was fifteen."

"I reprogrammed my house's security system when I was twelve."

Yzak's mouth dropped in shock.

"Hey, I was going through that rebellious phase. It set off my parents, so it must've worked."

"Yeah? Well I have the entire collection of _The Lightning Trio_. Even the never released twenty seventh issue."

"My first time was when I was sixteen."

"Back during the first war, I stole some of Commander Le Creuset's pills."

"...I have the entire black market of PLANTs under my control," Athrun said triumphantly.

Yzak raised his eyebrows arrogantly. "Last week I had _six_some."

Athrun's eyes widened.

"You win."

--

After what seemed like hours – which it was – the elevator started to move.

By the time Athrun and Yzak would appreciate the glory of the moment, it had stopped again on the bottom floor, and the doors opened.

"Well," said Athrun, as he walked out. "That was an enlightening experience."

"No kidding," said Yzak.

"Mr. Zala! Mr. Jule!" A rather nervous looking man came up to them, worry etched on his face. "I'm from the Emergency Repair Unit. I would like to apologize in beha–"

Before he knew what was going on, Yzak had punched him across the face.

The man went flying across the lobby.

"Listen, you," said Yzak menacingly. "Don't think that my mind is as _idiotic _as yours and that I wouldn't remember your voice. And I hope you remember what I said back then too. Come tomorrow, you'll find that you need to find a new job. And _not _in PLANTs."

The man, finally gathering some sense, ran for it.

Yzak turned around to face Athrun.

"Athrun."

"Yzak."

There was a little bit of uncomfortable squirming.

"Listen, Zala..." Yzak looked a bit shifty. "What was said on the elevator stays in the elevator, right?"

"Of course," said Athrun, breathing out a sigh of relief.

Then, they both quickly looked around to see if anyone was around, and when they saw that no, no one _was_ there, they sealed the deal with the super secret handshake that they came up with between playing Word Association and complaining about their lives.

"Well... I guess I'll see you."

"Yeah... Later, then."

Turning around abruptly, Athrun and Yzak turned away from each other, and returned to their lives, which lay in opposite directions.

And in the back of their minds, they both made a mental note to check out what the tabloids would hold the next morning.

--

X

X

X

X

--

**Just a little bit of humor to brighten up the weary days of school and other such things. Besides, Yzak needs more love. And I couldn't resist the other person being Athrun: I adore him far too much. Of course, the fact that Yzak and Athrun's personalities clash so much was just an added bonus.  
**

**Hope you enjoyed reading this, and please review!**


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